Rwanda’s U-16 girls’ basketball team on Friday, June 30, qualified for the 2023 FIBA Africa U16 championships after defeating Tanzania at the FIBA U16 Zone V African Basketball Championship qualifiers in Kigali.
The 2023 FIBA Africa women’s finals will take place in Monastir, Tunisia, from July 13 to 23.
Rwanda edged Tanzania 66-65 to record their first win at the three-day tournament.
The win was enough to seal qualification from the 3-team group stages, after Burundi was disqualified for using over-age players.
During their game against Tanzania, Rwandan youngsters were inspired by Emlyne Iragena Mahoro’s heroics as she dropped a game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds. Her counterpart Liliane Ingabire contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Tanzania’s Elizabeth Laizer was their opponent’s top scorer with 20 points and 23 rebounds while her teammate Upendo Isaya Katamboi dropped 15 points.
The girls’ category attracted three teams – hosts Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, playing in a round-robin format.
In the boys’ category, Rwanda finished second after losing the last game against Burundi 80-90, with Uganda in the first spot.
This means that the Uganda U-16 boys’ team qualified for the 2023 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championships after winning all games in the FIBA U16 Zone V African Basketball Championship qualifiers concluded in Kigali on Friday.
Rwanda 66-65 Tanzania
Source: The New Times
